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CTO of self-driving car project Google get off after nearly eight years

Aug

7

2016

Chris Urmson, the man who is chief technical officer of Google’s self-driving car project since 2009, resigns. Last Friday was his last day. He said he was “ready for a new challenge.”

Chris Urmson does the news Friday revealed on his blog medium. The reason for his resignation is to take the transition from the only research project to product development. He states that he has every confidence that the project is in good hands. ” Across from the New York Times say , however, two anonymous former Google employees know that Urmson ‘not satisfied’ with the direction that the Google project is. Urmson denies that this has anything to do with his departure. Whoever succeeds him is not known. What will be the next challenge for Urmson, is also not known.

Chris Urmson began his work on self-propelled cars when he was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. He did his team join the Uban Darpa Challenge, where participants had to design a self-propelled vehicle that was able to navigate with artificial traffic through a mock city. The team Urmson won this race in November 2007. The prize was $ 2 million.

In 2009 he began to perform the same work for Google and since taking office, the Google cars, according to him made autonomously 2.9 million kilometers. Recently it has been known that Google is so advanced with the development of self-propelled vehicles that a partnership enters into with Fiat Chrysler. Google technology will be integrated into hundred-Pacifica hybrid minivans. By the end of the year, which should be ready for testing.